Monday, December 25, 2006 at 2:02am
Girls just wanna have fun
Remember that old Cyndi Lauper tune "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"? I loved that song when it first came out in 1984. Every now and then I find myself humming it. And it isn't because it's about girls. Let's just nip that in the bud right now. It was the energy of it, and how the song took on the heaviness of serious work. It boldly declared the simplicity of the secret to life — for both genders — as having fun.
I have recalled this song because lately I am thinking of fun in a whole new way. The definition of work and play up to this point has been somewhat separate in my mind. As a result, I have found over the years that my spirit has shriveled at work. The limited amount of time that I found to play outside work was not enough to allow my spirit the room and space it needed to soar and grow.
So, I am changing my definition of fun. Fun is a necessary ingredient to both work and play for me now. And though it may seem like an oxymoron, I'll say it anyway: We need to work at getting play back into our work. Our energy, and our spirits, and our success depend upon it.
What about fun in religion? Here, I am all about fun too. I taught Sunday School for many years, so I can tell you first hand. If you do not bring fun into the Sunday School classroom, you are in for a very long hour indeed; a long and potentially scary hour. Fun is a gateway to learning for children. We learn at our most rapid rate as children, and typically that learning is in the form of games and play. At what age did we forget the power of fun in learning?
If you have ever been on a work retreat or at a conference, it is likely that the use of fun has played an important role. And if the event organizers were really good, they were sure that there was fun and play regularly. Not just as an afterthought or upon occasion; but built into the program, an integral part of the daily round. The conferences that I remember most clearly — in fact, the speakers and topics that I remember most clearly — were humorous and fun. Laughter played a pivotal role. The laughter opened my body, mind and spirit to the learning, and I remembered.
I remembered. That is, I really learned something.
I think in our DNA we know the importance of play. It is embedded in our language about success. When we tell an employee about their importance to the company, we say, "You play an important role." When we talk of the importance of a decision, we say we are "playing for high stakes." We know this word "play." We have just stopped thinking about what it means to us and to our success.
So, now when I think of the word "play," I will think of my daily work. I will think of fun and laughter, humor and warmth. When laughter and humor lift my spirit, I know that anything is possible. I know that everything is possible. What could happen for you? What if you began your workday by having fun? What would be possible for you?
— — —
Kerry Hamilton is CEO of Kerry Hamilton, LLC — working every day to challenge spirit at work. Visit her blog and send her an email at {email kerry.hamilton@comcast.net}kerry.hamilton@comcast.net{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Kerry Hamilton
I have recalled this song because lately I am thinking of fun in a whole new way. The definition of work and play up to this point has been somewhat separate in my mind. As a result, I have found over the years that my spirit has shriveled at work. The limited amount of time that I found to play outside work was not enough to allow my spirit the room and space it needed to soar and grow.
So, I am changing my definition of fun. Fun is a necessary ingredient to both work and play for me now. And though it may seem like an oxymoron, I'll say it anyway: We need to work at getting play back into our work. Our energy, and our spirits, and our success depend upon it.
What about fun in religion? Here, I am all about fun too. I taught Sunday School for many years, so I can tell you first hand. If you do not bring fun into the Sunday School classroom, you are in for a very long hour indeed; a long and potentially scary hour. Fun is a gateway to learning for children. We learn at our most rapid rate as children, and typically that learning is in the form of games and play. At what age did we forget the power of fun in learning?
If you have ever been on a work retreat or at a conference, it is likely that the use of fun has played an important role. And if the event organizers were really good, they were sure that there was fun and play regularly. Not just as an afterthought or upon occasion; but built into the program, an integral part of the daily round. The conferences that I remember most clearly — in fact, the speakers and topics that I remember most clearly — were humorous and fun. Laughter played a pivotal role. The laughter opened my body, mind and spirit to the learning, and I remembered.
I remembered. That is, I really learned something.
I think in our DNA we know the importance of play. It is embedded in our language about success. When we tell an employee about their importance to the company, we say, "You play an important role." When we talk of the importance of a decision, we say we are "playing for high stakes." We know this word "play." We have just stopped thinking about what it means to us and to our success.
So, now when I think of the word "play," I will think of my daily work. I will think of fun and laughter, humor and warmth. When laughter and humor lift my spirit, I know that anything is possible. I know that everything is possible. What could happen for you? What if you began your workday by having fun? What would be possible for you?
— — —
Kerry Hamilton is CEO of Kerry Hamilton, LLC — working every day to challenge spirit at work. Visit her blog and send her an email at {email kerry.hamilton@comcast.net}kerry.hamilton@comcast.net{/email}. © copyright 2006 by Kerry Hamilton